From 1 September 2013, under the Environment Protection (Waste to Resources) Policy 2010, all electronic and electrical waste will be banned from landfill in metropolitan Adelaide. This means you cannot place e-waste into your kerbside bins or put it out for hard waste (whitegoods are an exception). E-waste must be taken to a suitable recycler.

Why recycle E-waste?

E-waste contains non-renewable materials such as copper, nickel, tin, zinc and aluminium. Sending these valuable materials to landfill means they are lost forever and cannot be reused. When this happens, our only option is to mine for new materials.

E-waste also contains hazardous materials including lead, mercury, cadmium and lithium. Sending these hazardous materials to landfill means they may leach into the environment.

Almost all components of e-waste can be recycled. In fact about 90% of what is used to make televisions and computers can be recycled. It was estimated 29 million televisions and computers reached the end of their useful life during 2011/2012 alone. That is a lot of material that can be recycled! For more on what can be recycled from e-waste, click here.

What can I do with my unwanted E-waste?

TVs and Computers can be recycled for free!

Through the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme, which is funded and run by the television and computer industry, householders and small businesses can drop-off their unwanted televisions and computer products for free at selected collection locations across South Australia.

Items that will be accepted for free regardless of the brand or age include televisions (analog, LCD, flat screens), computer monitors, computer towers and printers, scanners, keyboards and mice. Residents and small businesses are permitted to take up 15 TV and computer items.

Some of these sites listed above will accept other e-waste but will charge a small fee. This fee covers the cost of dismantling the electronic waste to recover all the materials. Other businesses that accept e-waste for a small fee include:

Aspitech, 149 Holbrooks Road, Underdale

E-Cycle Recovery Facilities,12-14 Baulderstone Road, Gepps Cross

Advanced Recycling Technologies, 13 Chrysler Road, Lonsdale

Daws Road Recycling Centre, 76 Daws Road, Edwardstown

Remember

Do not dump your unwanted items in the street, at a reserve or park, or along roadsides or other community areas. Leaving any waste on the kerbside without permission is considered illegal dumping and can incur fines.

Trying to recover any precious metals or recoverable materials from your unwanted e-waste is dangerous. Cracked and physically broken televisions or computer screens can expose you, council staff and recyclers to hazardous materials as well as broken glass. You should ensure your television or computer is returned for recycling in one piece, and should not attempt to dismantle and salvage any components.

Further Information

For further information please contact the Waste Management Officer at the City of Mitcham on 8372 8888.

Alternatively, please visit Zero Waste SA to find more information on electronic waste, as well as other types of waste.